Example of the conventional sequin feeder apparatus is known from German Utility Model Registration No. G9209764.2 (patent literature 1), U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,168 (patent literature 2) or German Patent No. DE19538084 (patent literature 3) (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,168 above). Such a conventional sequin feeder apparatus includes a feed mechanism, which causes a strip of a multiplicity of continuously-connected sequins (spangles) to be played out or let out from a reel, having the continuous sequin strip wound thereon, onto the upper surface of a supporting plate and then, through predetermined forward and rearward (i.e., advancing and retracting) movement of a feed lever, feeds the continuous sequin strip at a predetermined pitch corresponding to the size of each sequin of the strip. One sequin is sewn at a time onto a sewing workpiece while being severed from the continuous sequin strip having been fed in interlocked relation to sewing operation by a needle bar of the sewing machine.
As well known in the art, each sequin has a sewing hole such that the sequin is sewn onto a sewing workpiece by the sewing needle being passed through the sewing hole. The feed lever feeds the sequin strip by causing its distal end to engage the sewing hole of a predetermined sequin and advancing the distal end engaging the sewing hole, and then it retracts the distal end to engage the sewing hole of a predetermined succeeding sequin of the sequin strip.
There are a variety of sequins having various different contours and various different sizes. FIG. 14(a) shows examples of strips of continuously-connected circular-shaped, rectangular-shaped and flower-shaped sequins. Although the sequins of the types shown in the figure differ in shape and size, they all have the sewing hole in the sequin center. Further, with each of the sequin feeder apparatus disclosed in patent literature 1 to patent literature 3 mentioned above, it is possible to reliably feed out sequins at a predetermined pitch because the apparatus feeds out each predetermined sequin by causing the distal end of the feed lever to engage the sewing hole (in other words, because the sewing holes of the individual sequins is located on an imaginary line connecting between the connecting portions of the individual sequins) so that a feeding force applied by the distal end of the feed lever acts on the imaginary line connecting between the connecting portions of the individual sequins.
In recent years, various modified sequins of types as illustrated in FIGS. 14(b) and 14(c) have also appeared, which have the sewing hole offset from the sequin center, in order to enhance the decorativeness of a product with these sequins sewn thereto. For a continuous sequin strip having sequins of the type having the sewing hole offset from the sequin center in the sequin feeding direction (arrow A in FIG. 14(b)) as illustrated in FIG. 14(b), the conventional arrangements, where each sequin is fed out by the distal end of the feed lever engaging the sewing hole, can reliably feed the continuous sequin strip a predetermined pitch at a time with no problem because the sewing holes of the individual sequins are located on the imaginary line connecting between the respective connecting portions of the sequins. However, for a continuous sequin strip having sequins of the type having the sewing hole offset in a direction perpendicular to the sequin feeding direction as illustrated in FIG. 14(c), the sequin feed-out operation by the conventional arrangements would become far less reliable. Namely, for the continuous sequin strip having sequins of the type shown in FIG. 14(c), the conventional technique, arranged to feed out a predetermined sequin through one-point engagement by the distal end of the feed lever, undesirably produces a force to rotate the sequin generally about the connecting portion, so that the connecting portion would be deformed and the sequin would be inclined about the vertical axis. If the sequin has been inclined about the vertical axis in this way, the feeding at the predetermined pitch can not be performed appropriately, and thus, the sequin to be fed out can not be appropriately severed from the sequin strip in the connecting portion.